Pakhaḷa (Oriya: ପଖାଳ, Devnagari:पखाळ) is an Oriya term for an Indian food consisting of cooked rice washed or little fermented in water. The liquid part is known as Toraṇi. It is popular in Orissa, Bengal, Assam, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. The Bengali name for this dish is Panta Bhat. Eating pakhal has been recommended to prevent heat stroke in hot weather. A traditional Oriya dish, it is also prepared with rice, curd, cucumber, Cumin seeds, fried onions and mint leaves. It is popularly served with roasted vegetables as potato, brinjal, Badi & saga bhaja or fried fish.

The term Pakhaḷa is derived from Pali word pakhaḷita (Oriya: ପଖାଳିବା) as well as Sanskrit word Prakshāḷaṇa (Sanskrit:प्रक्षाळन) which means washed/to wash and it is made by cooling the rice by adding water and keeping the cooked rice in water and curd. The word Pakhaḷa was used in the poems of Arjuna Dasa in his literary work Kaḷpalata (1520-1530 AD).

It is unknown when "Pakhaḷa" was first included in the daily diet of Eastern India, but it was included in the recipe of Lord Jagannath Temple of Puri during circa. 10. Pakhaḷa is eaten in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent (including Nepal, Bangladesh and some parts of Myanmar). Rice being the most cultivated agricultural product is the predominant cause of most of the people to have rice as a staple food.